Evening dress construction



July 25, 1950 M. SCHIMMEL EVENING DRESS CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 11, 1949 11440144 y/v M4452 SCH/M4451.

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented July 25, 1950 UNITED smrcs m ENT DRESS CONSTRUGTIDN Madalyn. MillenSchimmel, Los: Angeles,,(lalif.

Application January 11, 1949-',;Serial"No. 7%;331

2-Glaims. (01.. 2-4.4)

This invention relates to the construction of feminine outer garments which can be provocatively perched upon the bosom, without shoulder straps. The invention-is particularly directed to the construction of a strapless evening dress including bodice and skirt portions provided with integral means for holding the garment in position upon the body and provided withmeans whereby the entire garment may be adjustably positioned upon the body or removedtherefrom ina rapid and ready manner.

Strapless evening gowns have been made and used heretofore but the wearer did not have a sense of security and ash result was subjectto uncertainty and repeatedly adjusted her dress, since the dress had a tendency to slip down and expose those portions of the anatomy which convention deems it desirable to maintain covered in public. In such prior constructions'thewearer used normal undergarments-with the possible exception that specially designed brassi'eres with integral springs, bones and other reinforcements were generally worn beneath the dress. In all instances, however, whetherabrassire was worn beneath the gown or not, the upper marginal edges of the gown were provided with draw strings, elastic, or other constricting elements, and most cases the gown itself was provided with bones and otherreinforcingdesigned; tosupportthe bodice of: the; gown from. the. waist or. hip region of the wearer;

These prior constructions were not only unvcomfortable towear but failed to give the desired sense of security. Moreover, as previbuslyindicated; the evening. gown itself had to be specially constructed so. as to include the necessary reinforcing and supporting,bones, springs, elastic elements, etc.

The present invention permits the gown. tube made. inanormal manner and does not require the use of a separate brassireuor other busticovering and supporting garment. As aresult, the evening dress may be quickly placed. upon or taken cit the body- The lines and: con-tours of the dress need not beimpaired. asvist'the. case when bones, springs, etc;, have tube-attached to The rest of .thebodice .as;wel1 asthe-skirtis not attached :to the anchoring: or- .hold-ingmeans and thereicre the :figureaand pattern of the :material from which the gown is. made, as. well. as. the artistic: ability ot the gownsrdesigner, not impaired. by the inclusion of. mechanical features such as bones, which inevitably make their presencephnown by lines of stitching upon the outer surfaceof thegarment.

Means are .alsoprovided whereby the. entire garment. may bereadily closed, in order .toprop erly" .tasten ity in position, by an inconspicuous, vertically extending mechanical closure of the zipper type-,hooks and eyes, or the. like, this closure simultaneously releasing both. the gown and the holding or positioningmeans. Such verticallyextending closure may be. provided. either at. the back or the garment or preferably at. an underarm. position.

Itis an object. of the presentv invention, therefore,, to. disclose. and provide a construction of feminine outer garments whereby the bust is adequately and securely covered and supported withoutthe use of. separate brassie'resor shoulder straps.

A. further object. of. the. invention is to disclose and. provide .an evening gown construction which is freefrom shoulder straps and which is virtually unattached. to any underlying .element except at the front portion of the bodice.

These and other objects andiad'vantages of'the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of. an exemplaryformof the invention, illustrated in the appended drawings, wherein:

Fig. '1' is a side view of an evening gown made in accordance' with'the-present invention, in the positionwhich it assumes upon the feminine form.

Fig. 2' isa view'ofthe holding means alone, in stretched out or extended form.

Fig. is a vertical section along the plane I I-I-JII of'Fi'g; 2.

Fig; 4 is -an enlarged side view of'the gown, a part thereofbeing broken away and in section,

illustrating the: cooperative relationship of the 'ofmthe:wearer is well exposed;

Int ordervtm permitiull: expnessiomofxthezdress designer's skill, the gown or dress is free from buttons or other closure means in the front or in the back portions of the gown and preferably a vertically extending placket r closure, generally indicated at I2, is positioned at an underarm portion of the dress. The invention, however, is not limited to this particular location of the placket since, in some instances, it may be positioned in the mid portion of the back.

The placket I2 may be provided with a zippertype of closure and not only brings together the adjoining edges of the bodice of the gown but also brings together adjoining edge portions of a brassiere which is an integral part of the gown. By referring to Figs. 4 and 5 the construction will be readily understood. As shown in these figures, the bodice I0 is connected at its upper front marginal edge to the upper front marginal edges of stitching M. The placket I2 is generally materially longer than margins 16 and IB' of the brassire. I

"Those skilled in the art will understand that the bodice I0 is also provided with a vertical marginal edge adapted to underlie the marginal edge It of the brassiere and to these aligned edges one portion it of a zipper or other closure element is attached, as for example in the man'- ner illustrated in Fig. 5. The opposing edge of the bodice portion indicated at ID as well as the opposing marginal edge of the brassire indicated at it are similarly connected together with the cooperating or complementary portion of the closure 38'. A single actuation of the closure will therefore not only cause the dress to be fastened upon the body of the wearer, but simultaneously the underlying brassiere, which is an integral part of the dress, will be fastened similarly upon the body.

The particular brassiere illustrated in the drawings comprises a pair of breast cups, indicated at 26) and 20 suitably joined to the underarm portions. 2| and H. The breast-receiving portions 29 and 28' may be provided with suitable tucks to impart the desired configuration thereto...-These breast-receiving or cup-shaped portions 20 and 20' may be connected to centrally disposed, vertically extending members 22 and 22' joined along lines of stitching indicated at 23. A vertically extending pocket may be formed between the members 22-22 so as to receive a reenforcing strip of enameled metal, resilient plastic, or the like. The pocket is indicated at 24.

The upper end of the reenforcing strip or bone is upper end of the reenforcing and facilitating contact of the brassire with the body adjacent the upper marginal edge l3 and between the bosoms.

Between the breast-cup members 20 and the underarm portions 21 a pocket 25 is formed also containing a strip of resilient material such as metal, plastic, bone or the like. The upper ends of such strips are also inwardly curved so as to conform to the contours of the breastand facilitate coverage thereof. It will" be noted, however, that the pockets 25 are outwardly inclined, the lower ends of such pockets being closer to the central pocket-24 than the upper ends of such pockets.

' The underarm'marginal edge portion ll may be connected to a suitable strip of elastic, webbing, power net, or other resilient and elastic material adapted to extend across the lower portion of the back of the wearer. Such elastic strip is indicated at 21 and may be made of one, two, or three pieces, terminating in the vertical marginal edge 5' hereinbefore referred to for cooperative engagement with the corresponding marginal edg of the gown at the placket l2. 1

It will be evident from the construction described hereinabove that inasmuch as the gown is actually attached to the upper marginal front edge of the brassiere, the entire garment is supported upon the body of the wearer by the brassiere. The construction of the brassire may be somewhat modified from that illustrated, although it has been found that the illustrated structure not only adequately supports the breasts but maintains its position upon the body and thereby supports the gown adequately and firmly. -Byproviding a single closure, whereby both the brassiere and the gown may be fastened upon the body of the wearer, the owner of the gown may quickly and easily dress and undress herself, eliminating the necessity of separately fastening the gown to an. underlying brassiere and thereby destroying the symmetry or artistry of the gown. It will be noted that the bodice of the gown (as best shown in Fig. 4) is not attached to the brassiere at any other point or points than the upper marginal edge of the gown and brassire, thereby permitting the dressmaker to employ whatever tucks, rufiies, or other decorative features she cares to usein' the bodice without impairing the contours of such bodice by lines of stitching devoted to attachment of the bodice to a brassiere.

Although specific reference has been made to evening gowns in order to illustrate the invention, the invention is not limited thereto and the construction maybe employed in bathing suits, play clothes, and all other feminine garments.

All changes and modifications coming within the scope of the appended claims are embraced thereby.

I claim:

1. A strapless evening dress, including bodice and skirtportions provided with integral means for holding the garment in position upon the body, said means comprising a bust-covering portion overlying the bodice of the dress pro vided with resilient stiifening elements having inwardly curved upper end portions, one of said elements being located between the bosoms of the wearer, a placket in the bodice portion of the dress extending downwardly from the upper margin thereof in an underarm position, a resilient, elastic member attached to the bustcoveiing. portion on 1 the side oppositeto said placket and extending across the back of the wearer, said resilient portion terminating at.

said underarm placket, a. single, selectively operable closure means carried by the bodice and bust-covering portion and arranged to fasten said bodice and said bust-covering portion, and resilient band simultaneously, the bodice of the dress overlying the bust-covered portion and be ing essentially, independently movable thereover.

and a, permanent connection between the upper front margin of said bust-covering portion and the front upper margin of the bodice.

2. A strapless, feminine outer garment, includ ing bodice and lower portions, provided with integral, unitary means for holding the garment in position upon the body, said means, comprising a, bust-covering and supporting portion underlying the bodice of the outer garment and provided with resilient stiffening elements having in wardly curved, upper end portions and a resilient, stretchable, horizontally extending section, the upper margin of said means being permanently attached to the bodice, a vertically extending placket in said bodice, one vertical margin of said stretchable section terminating at the placket, said placket being of greater length than the vertical dimension of the stretchable section,

and a single, releasable closure in such placket arranged to fasten said bodice and said underlying bust-covering portion and stretchable section simultaneously.

MADALYN MILLER SC'HIMMEL REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Ettleson Jan. 4, 1949 

